GAO: Reservists need better information about health care benefits

The Defense Department needs to do a better job educating reservists about the health care benefits available to them, according to the government's watchdog.

The Government Accountability Office found that the military's reserve components lack a central point of contact to inform eligible reservists of their options under TRICARE Reserve Select. Most members of the Selected Reserve who are not on active duty can purchase TRICARE coverage under TRICARE Reserve Select after the coverage associated with active duty expires. It is the same benefit as TRICARE Standard and TRICARE Extra, but TRS enrollees must pay a monthly premium to receive benefits through the program.

"Without centralized accountability, the reserve components do not have assurance that all members of the Selected Reserve who may need TRS have the information they need to take advantage of the health care options available to them," the GAO report said. Officials from Defense's Office of Reserve Affairs told GAO they had not met with the reserve components since 2008 to discuss how they were fulfilling their TRS education responsibilities under a 2007 department policy. Officials from three of the seven reserve components told GAO that they were not aware of the policy.

The military increasingly has relied on reservists to serve because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Congress has boosted the health benefits available to them and their families. As of December 2010, about 392,000 of the more than 858,000 Selected Reserve members were eligible for TRICARE Reserve Select, according to Defense officials. Of those, about 67,000 members, or 17 percent, had purchased the coverage. Two-thirds of Selected Reserves serve in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

To be eligible for TRS, a member of the Selected Reserve cannot qualify for coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Eligible enrollees also must not be serving on active duty, or have been notified of active-duty service in support of a contingency operation, or have returned within 180 days from active duty in support of a contingency operation.

GAO also found that TRICARE contractors faced challenges when it came to educating reserve component units about TRS because they didn't have enough information about the units. "As a result, the contractors are not able to verify whether all units in their regions have received briefings [on TRS]," the report said.

In addition, low response rates to surveys gauging reservists' awareness of TRS are not reliable indicators of whether the department is adequately disseminating information about the program, GAO said. Defense will have results available this summer to a follow-up survey on whether access to care for TRS beneficiaries has changed.

GAO recommended the assistant secretary of Defense for reserve affairs develop a policy requiring each of the seven reserve components to designate a central point of contact for TRS education who is responsible for providing information about the program to members. Defense agreed with the recommendation.